The really wild show: amazing pictures from BBC's Africa

The really wild show: amazing pictures from BBC's Africa

The really wild show: amazing pictures from BBC's Africa

1/18

Little and large: an African elephant towers above herds of antelope and zebra as they congregate at a precious waterhole on the Etosia salt pan in Namibia
Picture: Simon Blakeney/BBC

BBC

2/18

In the Savannah: Thousands of flamingos flock at one of East Africa's soda lakes. The birds are one of the few creatures that can tolerate the caustic conditions
Picture: Simon Blakeney/BBC

Simon Blakeney/BBC

3/18

Hatching: a baby green turtle sees the world for the very first time. Getting to the sea will prove the young turtle's first challenge. The few metres to the surf is populated with predators ready to make a meal of her
Picture: Katharina Brown/BBC

Katharina Brown/BBC

4/18

Up close with meerkats: they live in tight knit family groups each looking out for the other
Picture: Nick Easton/BBC

Nick Easton/BBC

5/18

A baboon keeps an eye out: the magnificent gelada baboons are unique to the Ethiopian highlands. Temperatures are often drop below freezing so geladas are dressed for the cold weather, in spectacular billowing coats
Picture: Ian Llewellyn/BBC

Ian Llewellyn/BBC

6/18

A macaque in the Sahara: A Barbary macaque clutches its infant, perched in a cedar tree, high in the Atlas mountains in mid winter
Picture: Matthew Wright/BBC

Matthew Wright/BBC

7/18

Great White Shark in action: the rotting carcass of a Brydeas whale is polished off in the sea near Cape Town
Picture: Tim Brown/BBC

Tim Brown/BBC

8/18

Strange-looking birds: A pair of shoebills or whaleheads make a rare appearance on camera. Even though they are over 4ft tall, these extraordinary birds still proved very difficult to find; it took the crew six months of research, and then 2 days to cut a path through an unmapped swamp in Zambia
Picture: Alex Lanchester/BBC

Alex Lanchester/BBC

9/18

Penguins enjoy the rainbow: African penguins relishes the cool of a rain shower in South Africa. There are no trees to shade their eggs from the intense sun, so the adults must risk death to provide shade themselves
Picture: Rosie Thomas/BBC

Rosie Thomas/BBC

10/18

A black rhino seeks refreshment: this rhino arrives early at a secret waterhole, to join a night time gathering of sometimes 15 or so other rhinos Picture: Paul Brehem /BBC

Paul Brehem /BBC

11/18

Straining for a view: desert giraffes survive on the scantest of resources and will fight to defend their territories if challenged
Picture: Paul Brehem/BBC

Paul Brehem/BBC

12/18

At the watering hole: Springboks, oryxs and Finch-larks gather at a waterhole in Etosha, Namibia. At the height of the dry season, even a trickle of water is enough to attract huge numbers of usually solitary animals to drink
Picture: Paul Brehem/BBC

Paul Brehem/BBC

13/18

Secretly filmed in the Savannah: A shoebill stork chick, is filmed in the nest for the first time. The Africa crew used remote cameras so as not to disturb these vulnerable birds

BBC

14/18

Precious waterhole: a bubbling spring is a magnet in the arid Etosia salt pan, drawing animals of every kind from miles around

BBC

15/18

Survival in the Sahara: a colony of mole rats rest in a communal chamber. Mole rats escaped the tyranny of the sun over North Africa by going underground but in so doing became the most extreme of specialists: losing their hair, their sight and even the ability to control their own body temperature
Picture: Justin Maguire/BBC

Justin Maguire/BBC

16/18

Feeding frenzy: sharks descend on a bait ball of sardines off the South African Cape

BBC

17/18

Predatory pounce: A serval kitten launches into action in the tumultuous savannah lands
Picture: James Honeyborne/BBC